A biomedical sensor must operate inside a housing that will be exposed to strong
PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance · Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance
Problem
A biomedical sensor must operate inside a housing that will be exposed to strong, slowly varying external electric fields generated by nearby equipment. Two prototype housings are under evaluation:
• Housing A is a hollow aluminum box whose walls are 1.5 mm thick.
• Housing B is an identically shaped box made of solid polycarbonate plastic of the same thickness.
In separate tests, each empty housing is placed at the center of a region where a uniform external electric field points horizontally to the right. After sufficient time has elapsed, sensitive field probes measure the electric field at various points inside the otherwise empty cavity where the sensor would be mounted.
(a) Qualitatively sketch the expected pattern of electric field lines both outside and inside Housing A once electrostatic equilibrium is reached. Your sketch should clearly indicate any regions where the field magnitude is substantially reduced or zero.
(b) Repeat the sketch for Housing B under identical conditions.
(c) Using electrostatic principles, explain in detail why the internal field patterns differ between the two housings. Your explanation should address charge mobility, equilibrium conditions, and the resulting redistribution (or lack thereof) of charge.
(d) Based on your analysis, recommend which housing material will better protect the biomedical sensor from the external field and justify your recommendation with explicit reference to the physics discussed in parts (a)–(c).